Storefront Backtalk: In what's been called the self-checkout diet plan, retailers are learning the unintended consequences of self-checkout systems as they see sales of candy, Hollywood tabloids, batteries and other checkout-lane impulse items plummet.
"Things like chewing gum and breath mints, chocolate candy, chips and salty snacks, soda and water … we're seeing a tremendous change there, drops of 40 percent overall from people who say they buy it in a standard lane but do not buy it in a self-checkout lane," said Greg Buzek of IHL Consulting. "Retailers have to factor those impulse items in when they do an ROI calculation for self-checkout. They are typically using labor savings or moving labor around in the store as a primary reason for justifying self-checkout but (they) also need to factor in the merchandising sales. There's a fundamental change happening in the front-end of the check-out line when self-checkout is implemented."
